In spring 2004 French President Jacques Chirac appeared to be on top of the world. He had vocally and vehemently opposed the invasion of Iraq, aligning himself with the vast majority of French citizens.Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar backed the war and found himself ousted from office and the two heads of state who led the war, American President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, both faced difficult re-election campaigns. Around the globe, a growing, angry anti-Americanism dominated public debates and Chirac was the face and the hero of that movement.
There was even talk of the European Union becoming a global economic and political superpower to rival the United States; the continent's elites eagerly envisioned a superstate to "counterbalance" reckless American power, with a consummate sophisticated diplomat like Chirac at the controls.